ClueBy
TodayArchiveWord list

Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
YesNo
↻ New worksheet

Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: current · content · branch · club · temple · pitcher · face · cold

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. content — happy
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. current — happening now
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — not warm
  11. current — of water
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. content — the amount
  15. current — electric
  16. face — to point toward
  17. club — for dancing
  18. face — to confront
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. branch — a division
  22. club — for golf
  23. face — part of the head
  24. club — a group

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com